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W.S. Girl Scouts problems ???

Started 6 months ago by smokeycretin9
Latest reply from ChinookGS

smokeycretin9
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Two weeks ago my 8y.o. and I attended a informational thing at the library on Delridge because she has been asking for the last year to join Girl Scouts.
Before that night we have been emailing and emailing the local reps trying to get into a troop with no results.
Now, the rep who was putting on the info night has taken our registration money and info and we were told someone would contact us within a week or two. But no one has.

Is all the troops full? Is there some problem? Do we stink?

There is a little girl over here who keeps asking and asking when we will ever go to a meeting or join a troop. this is getting silly.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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Sounds familiar.

Posted 6 months ago #
karen
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You may look into starting your own group. It was my experience that there was no troop to join so a parent stepped up and started one.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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We were told to start our own troop and you would be surprised how many other girls want to join scouting. If you have the time it is a great experience.

Posted 6 months ago #
smokeycretin9
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I can look into it, but spare time for our family is at a premium most of the year.
My biggest concern was that they took our money after sitting thru info meeting and still getting same results that we have been getting for the last year.

a fool and his money are soon parted I guess.

Posted 6 months ago #
quesera
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Keep contacting them. I have confidence that they want to help parents pull things together. Keep in mind, however, that Girl Scouts is not the kind of program where you drop your daughter off and stay hands-off. If you don't have time to be an active troop mom, you're putting all the pressure on the other parents. Girl Scout troops require parental involvement or they will fail.

Posted 6 months ago #
rockergirl5678
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Did you get a name and contact info. from the person who registered you? If not I would call the "council" headquarters here in Seattle and talk to them - Good luck, as a former leader and lifetime scout I can tell you it is well worth the time to volunteer and they have great programs and camps here locally.

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/Pages/default.aspx
Membership Registrar, Seattle(800) 767-6845

Posted 6 months ago #
Sybil
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A similar thing happened to me. I ended up so frustrated I stopped trying.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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Maybe you could contact your daughters school or the PTSA president for help and get a flyer out at the school and I bet you would have alot of girls wanting to join.

Posted 6 months ago #
ChinookGS
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Hello to all! Girl Scouting IS a wonderful experience for girls and I'm sorry for your frustration. While I'm not the person in charge of recruiting or placement, I do have a leadership role and will do my very best to intercede if you'll contact me directly. For everyone, in our two-income, busy, busy lives, it is often a challenge to place girls when there aren't sufficient volunteers and I appreciate the positive comments to that end posted here. As well, parents must also realize that the perfect location, day & time of meetings may not always mesh with the troops with openings, so some flexibility is also required in order to get a proper placement. We do our very best, especially our volunteers who dedicate so much of themselves to the advancement & leadership development of local girls. Again, please feel free to contact me directly if I can be of some assistance. Yours in Girl Scouting!

Posted 6 months ago #
smokeycretin9
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I guess I will contact you ChinookGS. My wife tried again the local email contact to no avail.

I wonder if daughter would be interested in Soccer instead?

Posted 6 months ago #
GenHillOne
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Ummm, contact ChinookGS how? By osmosis? Psychic? Smoke signal? Looks like an important piece of info is missing. I feel your pain, smokeycretin9.

Posted 6 months ago #
smokeycretin9
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trying telepathy as we speak. Try telling your 8 year old daughter that she really isnt a Girl Scout yet. Or that she does not have a troop to join.

This is just sad. I am willing to give as much volunteer time to HELP out another established group, but there is no way I can start one myself.

Posted 6 months ago #
Cait
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I really liked Camp Fire as a kid! She might enjoy that if scouting doesn't turn out.

Posted 6 months ago #
Gina
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My nieces enjoyed the Y Indian Guides program through the YMCA, (now called Y Guides and Westerners) when Girl Scouting didn't work out for them.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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Been there done that, we too had to tell our then 8 year old daughter that there was not one troop available for just one more little girl. We like Sybil gave up. Fast forward 3 years our daughter would still like to be part of a troop but once again no troops are available.

Posted 6 months ago #
Gina
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https://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsWW

There is a GSWW facebook page. If you fb you might want to leave a message on their page.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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What is the age range for the Y program?

Posted 6 months ago #
smokeycretin9
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ok, Facebook posted and headquarters emailed. Nothing.....

tonight at dinner, topic was brought up. Daughter was in tears because she has not been placed in troop yet. I am going to lose it soon.

Posted 6 months ago #
smokeycretin9
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hate to say it, but do we dare BOYCOTT Girl Scout Cookies this year?

Posted 6 months ago #
shihtzu
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That is irritating that they're not getting back to you. However, the parents of just about every new girl scout I've known in the past few years have had to start their own troop if they wanted to join. Very popular!

A relative of mine is getting ready to start a new group for her youngest. Kind of funny since she's sooooo not a troop leader type, but...her kid wants to do it and it was the only way.

I'm going to have to figure out what to do with my boy in a year or so. I wish Girl Scouts accepted boys!

Good luck. I'm annoyed for you :)

Posted 6 months ago #
Talaki34
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Do you know why she is so focused on Girl Scouts? Is there something that they offer in particular that she is interested in, but might be found elsewhere? Is it because all her friends have joined or is she trying to fit in? Unfortunately you may have entered in to the “I can’t have it, so now it becomes paramount that I get it or I will die zone” that most kids go through.
I am so sorry that you and your daughter have to deal with this. I would follow others advice and try to interest her in one of the other programs. I myself was a YWCA kid and I loved it.

Posted 6 months ago #
rockergirl5678
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As a longtime Girl Scout - from the 4th grade on and as an adult (lifetime member) I know it does take time and patience to form troops and recruit leaders. I feel fortunate to be involved and participate in this wonderful organization. The leaders and girls whom I met growing up definitely made a big difference in my life.
I started a troop when my daughter was in kindergarten with several other mothers - some from my daughters school and some from the "waiting list" (girls who hadn't found a troop). We operated our troop as a sort of "co-op troop" - 2 leaders and parent committee - so one parent wasn't responsible for all of the various tasks needed to run a group.
We all took jobs and spent time planning meetings, events, outings, fundraising, etc. and this worked out very well. Also as the girls got older they took on many of the responsibilities of planning and leading the program. That is part of the beauty of programs such as scouting - it teaches young women how to become leaders, gives them confidence, builds self esteem and allows them to participate and be part of many different experiences.
While I sense frustration from the original poster and some others I want to point out it seems like only a short period of time has passed since you posted and having some patience will hopefully pay off in the end. In the meantime talk with other parents at your daughters school and consider starting a troop for her and others (on the waiting list)- it's obvious there is a need and it will be well worth the many wonderful memories you will make. If you would like to learn more about the program I know there are leaders meetings and trainings available locally as well.

Posted 6 months ago #
anotherwsmom
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I've tried contacting Girl Scouts as well. It's been about 6 months now. The only problem with your suggestion Rockergirl5678, is that we can't start a troop, invite wait-listed girls, and move forward without information from Girl Scouts, right? An official troop needs to be recognized and aided by Girl Scouts who WON'T RETURN ANY EMAILS OR PHONE CALLS.
Up until now, I didn't know anyone had given the organization money and then continued to be frozen out. That is highly suspicious, especially for an organization such as Girl Scouts. Maybe it's time some light was shed on the problem.

Posted 6 months ago #
goodgraces
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Wow, very eye-opening. Such dysfunction in an organization that I always assumed was top-notch. I will think once, twice, three times before pursuing GS when our daughter gets old enough.

Posted 6 months ago #
luckymom30
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While at Girl Fest this past September I spoke with one of the woman at the Girl Scouts booth and told her what problems it is getting a troop started or even joining a troop in West Seattle she was totally clueless that any problems existed. I was a girl scout years ago as my husband was a club scout, and it was natural for us to want our daughter to do join scouting but quickly it was apparent yet another activity she won't be able to participate in so I found other actvities.

To me it sounds as if people on this blog could form a group of kids to go camping and do other activities together.

Posted 6 months ago #
rockergirl5678
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It does take some effort to get involved in any organization - I spent the past half an hour on the Girl Scout website - looking for information on whom to contact and how to get started in scouts, researching info for anyone interested in starting a troop there are new leaders training sessions on Nov. 13th & Nov. 17th - all events including "welcome nights" which is what I think smokeycretin9 and her daughter attended. Since only 2 weeks have passed since you "registered" and it is a very busy time for forming new troops I would contact the leadership on the https://www.girlscoutsww.org/who-we-are/visit/Pages/King-County-Regional-Office.aspx
Lots of information on the websites.......http://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/AdultTrainingEvents.aspx
https://www.girlscoutsww.org/Things-To-Do/Pages/Calendar.aspx
The Getting Started Workshop provides new leaders and assistant leaders the basic knowledge needed to get started with a troop, including the parts of a meeting, activity suggestions, where you can go for help, and information about safety and finances. This workshop must be completed before meeting with girls. Before taking this workshop a new volunteer should have completed their application process and taken the Online Orientation. The Getting Started workshop is a prerequisite for the Leadership Essentials workshop.

Posted 6 months ago #
girlscoutswesternwashington
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I’m very happy your daughter is so excited about becoming a Girl Scout. We are excited to have her As many of those who commented mentioned, we rely heavily on volunteer involvement in order to provide troops for girls. We wouldn’t be where we are as a council without the more than 12,000 volunteers we have across Western Washington. That said, we typically have more girls interested in joining a troop than we do spots available. Therefore, if you want a particular troop and that troop is full, starting a new troop is the best way to ensure your daughter can have a troop experience. Two volunteers and five girls are needed to start a new troop. New volunteers are provided a comprehensive orientation, support and program guides to make leading a troop easy, rewarding and fun. Choosing to purchase a membership for your daughter won’t ensure that she is guaranteed placement in a troop, but it does guarantee her access to all the wonderful programs we have. We’ve got camp, series, events and travel opportunities that can really expand her horizons, if a troop isn’t something accessible at the time. Please visit our website for more information on the wonderful opportunities we can offer your daughter: https://www.girlscoutsww.org/Things-To-Do
I apologize for the delay you have experienced in receiving a response. We have a high volume of troop placement requests at this time of year, and the response time is two weeks MINIMUM, and is typically longer. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Again, thank you for your interest in Girl Scouts of Western Washington. I am confident we can find an opportunity your daughter will enjoy.
-Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Posted 6 months ago #
ChinookGS
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With my sincerest apologies to rockergirl5678 and smokeycretin9, I am not well-versed in how bloggin' works and didn't mean to give you no way to respond to my offer last week. (I thought by establishing my profile that you would be able to get to me.) I'm presently serving as the volunteer Service Unit Manager for the Girl Scouts here in West Seattle. I can be contacted at kriscrop@msn.com and will do my very best to address your frustrations directly but would be most appreciative if everyone could understand that our council is in transition and our staff & volunteers do our very best with the time & resources we have. Many of us have dedicated quite some years to developing girls & growing them as leaders who contribute time & talent to better the world. Again, please feel free to contact me directly.

Posted 6 months ago #
ChinookGS
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OOPS...apologies to GenHillOne and thanks to rockergirl5678.

Posted 6 months ago #